latest jam

Being cooped up indoors means you have a lot of time to troll around the internet in search of entertainment. I love this new song by Ceelo Green.

day four, post-op

Not feeling so great after the surgery, not gonna lie. Despite that I've had less bruising and swelling in comparison to the other people who went into surgery with me, I spent the past three days trying to decide if I regret undergoing this operation. It's painful, and if anyone tells you otherwise, they are a liar.

I'm currently in this studio apartment in Mok-dong, trying not to concentrate on watching the swelling go down. I've been obsessively documenting my progress on Photobooth. (Still trying to decide if these photos will ever see the light of day because they're really embarrassing. I took my first shower today since the op. I think that should say enough.)

I'm going back to the hospital tomorrow morning to refit my mouth with the bite wafer because it keeps moving whenever I try to cough out phlegm. Sexy.

I don't know when I'm going to be able to go out and about in public again. Those days seem very far away, indeed.

you got a couple pennies in your rusty jar

The ordeal is finally over.

I'm scheduled to go under the knife with one of Korea's top specialists on Aug. 10. For the first time since this entire process began, I feel very confident with the doctor and hospital I've chosen. Now it's time to stuff my face with as many goodies as possible for the next two months will be filled with mac & cheese, mushy pasta, juices & smoothies in every flavor combination, & baby food.

I'm still trying to get my bearings in Seoul. Gotta find a furnished apartment, get some home decor, & find a proper schedule that doesn't involve me watching "Pretty Little Liars" at 2am.

In the meantime, a brief collection of photos of life in Seoul so far... unappealing, right?


I've been seeing this model a lot lately.


The teeth from the left mold comes out.


Japanese restaurant interior.


At Hanil Kwan, the original.

the arrival, surgery, and now.

All right, so here's the whole deal.

I'm here in Seoul for maxillofacial surgery, more commonly known as jaw surgery. I have an underbite, which I think I hide very successfully in photos, and it's been causing a lot of problems as of late as I've suddenly decided to start grinding my teeth at night. Right after my return from Europe, I went to Seoul to meet with doctors after receiving recommendations from family members to think about having the operation in Korea. This problem is fairly common in Asian people, so there's a plethora of practices that are dedicated to this one specific type of oral surgery. I felt fairly comfortable upon my return to Atlanta with the surgeon and dentist my mother and I chose and planned to return to Seoul after my birthday celebration to begin pre-op treatment.

 The day after I arrived, I plunged into dental works, aka getting braces. Got my spacers inserted, a few days later, had my back brackets put into place. That was when things started going downhill. One of my back brackets weren't put in correctly, so my back teeth wouldn't meet properly. (As of this moment, it's still fucked up.) The next day, I went to meet with the surgeon at Severance Hospital (affiliated with Yonsei University). With the operation looming less than 3 weeks away, I was expecting a more detailed explanation of the game plan for my jaw. (There are a number of options that I have: operating on just the lower jaw, doing both upper and lower, and also determining chin length.) Aside from me asking post-op questions, he had nothing to tell me save for the fact that he planned on going on vacation from Aug. 2-8.

Yesterday, I went to the dentist, assuming that they were going to put on my brackets. When I arrived, they first inserted an expander in my mouth without having told me previously that I was getting an expander. That was when I started to come to the realization that I was completely clueless about the dentist's plan for my mouth, in addition to the plans for the surgery. I was getting pretty upset while sitting in my chair, but the last straw came with the brackets.

The first day I arrived, I had discussed with my dentist that I specifically wanted to have enamel colored brackets for the top teeth and metal on the bottom. When I looked in the mirror after they placed the brackets, I saw that they put all metal. I was LIVID. When I complained that the metal brackets were not the ones I had requested, my dentist showed me the paper that showed the words "metal" written under brackets. I told him that I don't know who wrote that, but it was something I hadn't requested. The fact that his attitude was like, "They're on now, just keep them on" made me absolutely furious. If I'm paying thousands of dollars for a service, I expect for the job to be done well. That means that if I want enamel brackets and you put on metal, you go back and put enamel brackets in my mouth even if it's a pain because at the end of the day, you fucked up and this customer is NOT happy.

After more discussion, I come to realize that the dentist (the one who actually comes up with the plan for the surgery) hadn't made the measurements and graphed a chart for me yet, citing that he hadn't had enough time. He gives me more excuses by saying that this entire procedure is rushed. I heard that as him saying that he's inadequate to prep me for an operation that's now 16 days away. When I told him that I wanted to further discuss the plans for my surgery, he brushed me off by saying that he had a lot of patients to see today. I heard that as him saying that he didn't consider my status as a patient as important and that my concern for my surgery was unwarrented and an overreaction. I left the office with an internal struggle with how I should proceed.

Many phone calls and many emails later, I sit in front of this computer with a full braceface and only one decision made thus far. I will no longer forge a working relationship with the dentist at Eastman Dental Clinic (located in Apkujeong, Exit 6) and in turn, will not be working with the surgeon at Severance Hospital. The last question (and probably the most major of them all) is: do I stay in Korea, find another doctor and have the surgery or do I go home, meet with a new surgeon (and continue with the orthodontist I've worked with for 10 years) and have it in Atlanta?

fact.

Three facts.

1. Heat makes you angry.
2. All women are vain.
3. Terry Richardson is a bastard.

I finally have internet. It's like being able to see after a year of blindness.

goodbye, ATL.

Tomorrow afternoon, I'm going to board a flight to ICN (Incheon) Airport.
Then, I'll drag my one gigantic suitcase, one carry on suitcase, a backpack, and a tote to a KAL bus that will drop me off in front of the Lotte Hotel.
By a stroke of luck, I will hail a cab that will take me to my uncle's house, where I shall share an apartment that's definitely not big enough to hold an unruly toddler.
I pray that I will not kill my cousin.

I'll probably feel very reflective tomorrow, so please anticipate a soul revealing verbosity in a day or two. It will shock you.

One of the largest food conglomerates in Atlanta has to be Star Provisions. Five star price fixe restaurant, sandwich take out, meat specialization store, grocery store, etc. all rolled into one. Everyone raves about Bacchnalia, but I just can't justify paying $75 on a three course meal for southern fusion food. If you're going to eat out, shouldn't you be paying for stuff that you wouldn't make at home?

The decor of Star Provisions seems like a continuation of Anthropologie, with its love of antique decorations and gourmet foods (like French lollipops). I'm not gonna lie though, those wooden benches are a dream and I'd love to have them in a future apartment. They'd be perfect for casual dinner parties.















some photos taken by Sooji